NFL player charged with sexually assaulting woman in hotel room while playing for Cowboys

National Football League free agent safety C.J. Spillman has been charged with sexual assault in a September incident at a Dallas-area hotel when he was playing for the Cowboys, officials said on Wednesday.

Spillman, who has played six seasons in the NFL, is suspected of sexual assaulting a woman at the hotel, which is used by the Cowboys, and then traveling with the team the next day to play against the St. Louis Rams, police and prosecutors said.

Spillman, 29, has been under investigation in the case for 10 months, police in the Dallas suburb of Grapevine have said.

He was indicted by a grand jury in Tarrant County Monday and is scheduled to appear in court on July 17.

Spillman posted a $15,000 bond and was released.

Spillman played in all 16 games last season with the Cowboys.

He also has played with the San Diego Chargers and the San Francisco 49ers.

Spillman continued to practice after the allegations surfaced, with team coaches and executives saying they would keep him on unless charges were filed.

The victim, from Grapevine, accused Spillman of raping her between 6 am and 7 am on September 20 at the Gaylord Texan Resort.

Detectives have released no details about the case.

The alleged victim has acquired prominent California attorney Gloria Allred to represent her.

On Wednesday, Allred told The Dallas Morning News that the NFL ‘clearly dropped the ball on a serious allegation’.

‘It took the courage of my client, a very brave young woman to take action in the justice system,’ Allred said in a statement.

‘I am very happy that the criminal justice system will now try to move forward to prosecute Mr. Spillman … but it is shameful that the NFL has taken no meaningful action in the interim.’

The NFL has not commented on the charge.

At the time the allegations surface, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said: ‘He’ll take part in everything with our football at this time unless the circumstances change.’

‘You have to be careful with just accusations and allegations in this situation.

‘When someone is officially charged or arrested for something, that’s when it becomes a different situation in our minds.

‘For now, he’s a member of our football team and will take part in everything we do to this point.’

The NFL also launched its own investigation.

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